Students and staff speak about SMART Lunch

Leesville students have the privilege of SMART Lunch, a one-hour period of time where we can go into classes to receive the help they need, have a club meeting or just eat lunch. Leesville students are not utilizing the privilege enough, which is risking SMART Lunch being taken away.

Students and staff were interviewed on the benefits and effects of SMART Lunch and why kids don’t come to the tutorials.

“I feel that many of my students use SMART Lunch as an opportunity to make-up work, especially, during the school day. It is great because students who have extra-curriculars or like a job after school because they have a chance to make up work during the school day,” said Alexandra Bouchard (World Languages Department).

Robert Phillips (English Department) had a different view, saying that “it would have a huge impact on our school if SMART Lunch went away, but it wouldn’t have an impact too much on my particular class.”

Holly Laird (CTE Department) gave students the benefit of the doubt. “Sometimes I think that…our students do not come just because they forget. They get caught up in the moment, with their social circles and their lunch plans, and… they just forget that they need to come in and do their make-up work,” she said.

Other teachers, such as Bouchard and Phillips agree that the students don’t think the extra help is needed or that students would rather hang out with their friends.

Students say that some don’t go to tutorials because they don’t want to and don’t have the motivation to use their own time.  “SMART Lunch is a part of school, and they see lunch as a time to relax,” said Emily Guettler, Junior.

Most schools have students come before or after school or during the short 30 minute lunch periods. When asked, the teachers listed above say that if there wasn’t SMART Lunch, they would help their students by staying before or after school.

“We would most likely go back to what we used to do which we had a Pride Period. We have to have some sort of remediation during the day, I mean, that’s always been the case since I’ve been teaching at Leesville,” said Phillips.

Students feel that if SMART Lunch was taken away, they would be affected by not having a lot of time to do homework during lunch, talk to teachers or hang out with friends. “I would be so cramped for time it wouldn’t be funny. I would probably miss so many points for most of my things because I would have no time,” said Tamara Coste, junior.
With an average of 5-7 students at each tutorial, the SMART Lunch tutorials are looking pretty barren. While the hour-long lunches are nice, Leesville students aren’t using the lunches for what they are meant for; to get help in classes.

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